Cheating Fate (運命を浮気)
by Vaengir
Summary: To give Naruto a chance against Madara, Obito might've inadvertently erased him from existence. Until he finds a way to bring Naruto back, he'll have to deal with sharing a body with his younger self while the other remains oblivious to his existence. Time travel
1. Prologue

**Cheating Fate (****運命を浮気****)**

**Prologue **

"This is the end," drawled Madara. "You've all fought valiantly, but to no avail. This world will reshape into the image I so choose."

"N-no," protested Naruto as he struggled to push himself onto his elbows, but his arms gave way and he hit the ground with a painful wheeze. "I won't let you."

"_You_ won't let me?" chuckled Madara in a low rumble as amusement crossed the ancient Uchiha's face. "Look around you, boy. The world is in ruins, there's nothing left that's worth protecting. Just accept your fate and go quietly to your death. It'd be less painful for you."

"Never," snapped Naruto. "As long as I live, I'll fight you to my very last breath. I won't let you have your way!"

"For what?" droned Madara. "Your friends? Your allies? What could possibly worth this much effort?"

"Will," hissed Naruto as he forced himself up by that word alone.

"Will?" said Madara with a raised brow.

"It's sad, even though you were once a part of Konoha, you have no clue what it is," said Naruto as he raised his determined eyes to meet the single rinnegan.

"You speak of the Will of Fire Hashirama is so fond of," snorted Madara. "Pointless drivel."

"And that why you won't understand why I fight and why I would never submit to the likes of you," said Nartuo as he stumbled to his feet.

"Such futility," commented Madara with disinterest. "I grow tired of your inane ideals. Let me end your misery."

"Not if I end you first!" snapped Naruto, flaring out the last of his chakra in conjunction with Kurama's as he charged at Madara one last time.

...In his sorry state, Naruto was no match for the newly revived Uchiha. Blow after blow, his attacks never even touched the man. Madara made short work of him as he counter each attempt with a more violent and brutal attack. It wasn't long before he beat Naruto into the ground, leaving the blond in a broken and bloody mess. Even so, Naruto feebly continued to fight on, as he forced himself to crawl to his knees again.

"Naruto!" screamed Sakura as she and what's left of the final assault team rushed to his aide, but their hearts dropped in horror at the sight of Madara raising his gunbai over his head.

"Like killing an ant," drawled the Uchiha as he stepped on Naruto, forcing him back onto the ground. "I would ask if you had any last words, but I don't really care."

With one swift motion, Madara drove his gunbai into the back of Naruto's neck, decapitating the helpless blond. As the gunbai hit the ground, Naruto's head rolled away, blood gushing and spilling everywhere. The ancient Uchiha watched with stoic indifference as the blond bled dry. Even flicking his weapon to rid of the blood was a mere afterthought.

"NARUTO!" Anguished screams ripped through the air as they all charged at Madara, but they too posed no threat to him as he easily vanquished them all.

"Now…" drone Madara as he kicked Kakashi's corpse aside and strolled towards Obito, who was still struggling to keep Black Zetsu from taking the rinnegan. "I'm amazed that you're still alive."

"That does seem to be my thing isn't it?" said Obito weakly as his dead eyes glanced at Naruto's headless corpse. He never stood a chance…

"You've always been annoyingly resilient," said Madara before he glanced at the darken portion on Obito's body. "Zetsu, you're free to go, I'll be taking the eye back myself."

"Yes sir," said the Black Zetsu before he left Obito, releasing whatever support that kept the Uchiha standing and dropped him into a broken heap.

"Are you going to spend your last breath opposing me too?" asked Madara as he slowed to a stop.

"Who me?" said Obito with a broken chuckle. "I don't have much will for that."

A wry grin touched Madara's lips. "How contrite, are you going to lecture me on the Will of Fire like that boy?"

"You should know, I all people have no right to lecture anyone," said Obito before a weak twitch raised the corner of his lip. "This whole situation is a bit hilarious and a whole lot ironic. I strove to create a world where all these wars and pointless quarreling would cease, but what I actually did was drive it into ruination and handing it to a monster like you."

"Is that remorse I'm hearing?" said Madara, a low bellow of laughter escaped him as he tilted his head back to look down on them. "It's rather pointless now."

"True, it is the end after all," said Obito, barely above a whisper. "There's no point in doing anything now. You've won."

"Hn," smirked Madara in amusement. "I'll be merciful and make your death quick and painless since you've so obediently accepted your fate."

"Ah, that's very gracious of you…but I can't die that easily," said Obito. "Or rather, I'm bad at dying."

"Oh?" said Madara as he stood over the younger Uchiha.

"Like I said, I don't have the will to fight you," replied Obito with a weak smile. "That's reserved for the idiot who actually fought you to his dying breath."

"You think you can revive that child in your current state?" droned Madara.

"Revive?" repeated Obito, bemused. "No, nothing that kind. What I have planned is cruel in comparison."

"Hmm?" Madara frowned at his words before realization sunk in and an angry scowl crossed his face. The gunbai found its way into Obito's neck, but instead of decapitation and blood, there was nothing. "Tsk…"

* * *

"I know you're still there!" shouted Naruto as he reached for Obito, trying to draw him out from the grasp of the Ten-Tails' power, but the Uchiha showed no response. "Stop running away and just take my hand!"

Much to his surprise, Obito did just that and when Naruto looked up to see if his words had drawn a reaction, he immediately noticed the whiteness in his right eye.

"Obito?" questioned Naruto, uncertainty lacing his voice.

"Naruto…" said Obito, sounding like he was having trouble forming words. "I… will erase…" said Obito.

"What?" said Naruto in confusion as he tried to pull the tailed beasts from him, but the Uchiha kept a firm hold.

"Every skill… every bond… all pain… all joy… leaving only memories," said Obito. "The world…restart…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" snapped Naruto as he grabbed the other's arm, but noticed the Uchiha focus was slipping as if losing himself to the Ten-Tails again.

"You've…asked for me to repent," strained Obito as his brows furrowed and his eyes fighting an unseen force to make the words come. "This is… all I could manage."

"All you could manage? What does that even mean?" asked Naruto as he grabbed the older man's arm, shaking him to get answer. "Hey Obito! Obito!"

The Uchiha said nothing as the rinnegan turned white. Naruto's angry words, along with the world faded into the darkness. All the while, Obito did whatever he could to maintain inazagi and kamui long enough to send Naruto to send back. Without his eyes, he couldn't see how far back he's gone. All he could do was listen to the garble of conversations in reverse and tried to make sense of what he could.

There were many times where he wanted stop and allow time to flow once again, but to give Naruto a fight chance, he had to hold firm, pressing further and further back. He couldn't risk dropping the blond in the middle of volatile events like the Kage Summit. He had to go further, before the invasion of Pain, before the collection of jinchuriki. He had to—

"Otibo!" The familiar scream startled him to a stop. Even through the distortion of time reversal, he could never forget that voice screaming his name.

"…Rin," whisper the Uchiha as he turned to her voice. Much to his surprise, he saw her, clear as day as if his eyes were… His eyes… he could see through them! But…how?

In his surprise, he lost hold of kamui and inazagi, allowing time to flow normally once again. Unfortunately, he couldn't have known that this moment was where everything started. He found himself unable to move as every unfolded before him. The roof of the dome came crumbling down just as it did before on this very day. The boulders fell and…

"Kakashi!" screamed Rin at their fallen teammate.

Everything happened so quickly, he couldn't think before his body moved on its own. It was like watching a recording of himself running to Kakashi, grabbing him and tossing him aside just as the boulders came down. It wasn't until the pain from the impact that he came to his senses long enough to activate kamui again, but even then he suffered quite a bit of damage that he couldn't immediately pull himself away from under the boulder.

"Obito!" screamed Rin.

He wanted to say he was fine, but what came out instead were words from the past. What the? He could feel his consciousness fade as the scene played out like before. Why wasn't he in control anymore? Wasn't this…no, it's not his body. Not anymore. This was the body of a younger Obito, one before everything went to hell. His own body didn't make it back this far because it exist at this point. He was nothing more than a parasitic specter.

If that's the case… If he ended residing in a version of his younger self… Where was Naruto? The blond wasn't even alive at this point…

"Rin… take my sharingan… and plant it into Kakashi's left eye." He couldn't see a thing but he could hear his younger voice rasp out every word from his memory. Telling them to leave him. Telling them to save themselves.

Of all places he could've gotten distracted and stopped, why did it have to be this moment? Though he couldn't move the body, he could still activate kamui to allow the body to phase through the boulders. With things as they are now, would he be able to change anything? Without a body…and without Naruto… what could he do?

"…It hurts," whimpered a small voice in the darkness, sobbing. "I want to go home."

A child? Obito internally frowned as he focused on the sound of the crying. The child was extremely young, too young to be even considered for the field. How did this child get here? Did this happen last time?

"Hey, don't cry," whispered the young Obito, the owner of the body that he had no control over aside from the sharingan's kamui. "Are you lost?"

"I-I don't know where I am," said the child, voice threatening to crack. "I don't know where tou-san is."

He could hear the child's breath speed up as panic set in.

"It's dark, I can't see anything! I want kaa-san! I want tou-san!" The child broke down crying. "I want to go home!"

"Shh… Calm down, can you do that?" continued the younger Obito in his gentle tone as he tried to soothe the frightened child. Was his voice ever that kind? He couldn't remember what he sounded like back then anymore.

Trapped in darkness, all he could do was listen as Obito gain the child's trust using what little energy left to be optimistic. Slowly, little by little, he managed to get the little girl to open up and soon that feeling of angry frustration coursed through him. She was another victim of war, just like so many before her and many more after her.

"…You're dying," mumbled the girl meekly. He couldn't help but think the same for her.

"Yeah," agreed Obito quietly as he did his best to comfort the girl. "Sorry for leaving you alone."

It won't be long before Madara have Zetsu take him away and the horrible cycle starts all over again. That girl was going to die and the miserable chain of deaths will soon follow. Was there no way to cheat fate? Was everything destined to end in such misery?

"Obito, open your mouth," grunted the girl as if she was in pain.

Vaguely, he could feel a slight spike in chakra from the child. It was bright and unrefined just as how the chakra of children should seem, but something was different.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" asked Obito weakly with concern.

"I'm going to fix you," wheezed the girl, her words breathing becoming more ragged with word.

Obito started with words of concern, but she quickly silenced him by shoving her arm into his mouth. Out of surprise, the Uchiha chomped down and immediately a wave of healing chakra rushed through him… the girl… she was an Uzumaki, just like that Karin girl that followed Sasuke. Though her healing capabilities couldn't match Karin's, as she was at least a decade younger, it did help him regain some semblance feeling in the body.

It was comparably better than what he had in the last life. With kamui active, he avoid the more serious injuries that took his arm last time and left him near cripple until the grafting of Hashirama's cells and the merging with White Zetsu. He found his vision of the world returning once more as he took control of the body. He knew this control wouldn't last, he has probably moments at best before he falls back into the darkness again. The girl laid limply by his side with her arm still stuck in his mouth.

Gingerly, he removed the limb, studying her with a close eye. He may not have Naruto anymore, but with this girl, they might just have a chance before White Zetsu comes and whisks him away to Madara again. She could be of use until he found some way for Naruto to exist once more… He couldn't recall if she was here last time, but something must've changed for this meeting to have happened.

He would have to look into it when he's not fleeing from Madara, but for now… he could use her. What did she say her name was again? Oh right…

"Kasa?" He called out to the Uzumaki child.

"Tired…" murmured the girl in exhaustion as she fell limp next to him.

"Hold on, I'll get us out." He promised as he shifted her unconscious form with his aching arms.

He didn't have much chakra left, not with how long he kept kamui going. Making sure he had a firm hold on the girl, he held kamui until he cleared the stone dome that once buried them. Until he could find a way to permanently gain control of this body, she could be of use.

* * *

Author's Notes: I didn't want to put this note on top, just because I didn't want to spoil anything, but now that you've read it, I could say I want. This story is a parallel to Iryo-nin Kasa. There were so many things I wanted to write while doing that story, but I could never find a good place to write them in. I don't want to spoil what's to come, so I'll have to leave the note here. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1: Child-Spirit?

**Cheating Fate (****運命を浮気****)**

**Chapter One: Child-Spirit?**

Obito had resigned his fate the moment he pushed Kakashi out of the way of the boulder that now crushed him. He didn't have time to think about it, his body just moved to shove the silver-haired jounin out of the way. The look of shock on his face was priceless, it was almost worth getting crushed over…almost.

Had the boulder landed on the other side, he might've joked about the stupid rock crushing his chest and giving him heartache, but he knew the pain was from the broken look on Rin's face. His teammates tried desperately to push the rock off him, but he knew it was a pointless endeavor.

"…Forget it," whispered Obito with a weak chuckle. "Half my body's crushed, I can't even feel a thing."

It wasn't a lie, he really couldn't feel anything. Not the pressure, not the weight… actually, it hardly feels like he was being crushed at all.

"No," screamed Kakashi in frustration as he pounded the ground brokenly. "How could this… If only I…"

"…Don't blame yourself," said Obito weakly. "It really sucks, but I guess that's life. Oh yeah… I didn't give you a present for your promotion yet."

"What are you talking about?" said Kakashi, his voice broken.

"Rin… Take my sharingan… and plant it into Kakashi's left eye," said Obito.

"Obito," whispered Kakashi.

"I'm dying and there will be more of them waiting outside for you guys when you leave," said Obito. "There's not much else I could do except to be your eye and help you see the future. So please…" said Obito.

The three fell into silence before Rin eventually agreed to do the operation. He could feel the distress coming off his silver-haired teammate in waves, but kept silent as the other fought back the surge of emotions. Any other time, he might've teased him for such display, but with their dire situation, he didn't heart to say a word.

Once Rin took away his eye, his world fell into darkness. His other eye was hidden, possibly crushed by the boulder that trapped him. Kakashi left to confront Rin's kidnappers and Obito turned to his hearing in order to track his teammate's movements. Rin remained by his side, clutching onto his hand tightly as they waited for their teammate. As expected, Kakashi won and all seemed well. At least until the enemy made a last ditch effort to collapse their rocky base in hopes of burying all three of them with it.

"Kakashi, take Rin and go," ordered Obito.

His silver-haired teammate said nothing, but he could hear him moving to leave.

"Obito!" screamed Rin as her hand slipped from his, no doubt from Kakashi dragging her away as he ordered.

It was a pity that things had to end this way, just when he was starting to get along with Kakashi too. Does he have regrets? Sure, he has several. He regrets not telling Rin how he felt. He regrets not being able to give much help and he regrets leaving them in such misery. However, he doesn't regret a single thing he chose to do today. Saving a friend and comrade would never be something he would regret.

The roar of rocks crashing into one another raged around him, no doubt burying what's left of him under the rocky pile. He still couldn't feel a thing, was his nerves damaged? He supposed that was a gift in itself, if he could go painlessly. Without his sight, he couldn't tell whether or not the boulders had completely hidden away the sky or whether there was still a sliver of light coming through.

Trapped in darkness and waiting for death. Oddly, he didn't feel scared at all. He was ready and willing to pass on. Except…

"It hurts…" whimpered a childlike voice.

A child? Confusion crossed his mind, what was a kid doing here? They were in the midst of war, no one was stupid enough to go off road without ample bodyguards or a fair amount of skill, especially not with a child. It was strange. He and Kakashi did what scouting they could in the short amount of time they had and not once either of them saw a child. His mind wavered, humoring the thought that this child might not be a child… but the spirit of one that died and never moved on. It was an absurd theory…right?

"I want to go home!" sobbed the little girl

"Hey, don't cry," whispered Obito. He knew his theory of a child spirit was unlikely, but he wasn't one to leave a child crying if they're hurt and scared. "Are you lost?"

"I don't know where I am. I don't know where dad is," whimpered the girl, voice cracking with each word she spoke. "It's dark, I can't see anything! I want mom! I want dad! I want to go home!"

"Shh… Calm down, can you do that?" hushed Obito as he continued with a soothing voice. "I know you're scared. It could be very scary in the dark. I can't see anything either, but you know what?"

"W-what?" hiccupped the child.

"It's not as scary when you have a friend right?" asked Obito.

"Friend?" asked the girl warily as if the question was dangerous.

His theory of a lost child spirit was starting to take root in his mind. If a simple offer of friendship could incite such a response, it was likely this child didn't have many friends in life. There's a chance that she might just become a vengeful spirit if left alone.

"Yeah, you want to be my friend?" asked Obito.

"…Mommy said I'm not supposed to talk to people I don't know. Stranger-danger," said the girl childishly.

A chuckle escaped Obito in a wheeze. Okay, maybe his child-spirit theory wasn't completely accurate, but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"How about we get to know each other? Then we wouldn't be strangers right? We're not going anywhere and talking would make the pain hurt less," suggested Obito.

The girl quiet as if she was debating his words.

"How about we start with an introduction?" said Obito.

"Introduction?" inquired the girl, voice laced with quiet uncertainty.

"You know, like where you're from, likes and dislikes, hobbies, dreams, things like that," answered Obito.

She remained quiet. He couldn't blame her. It's not every day that you would get trapped underneath a pile of rubble with someone you don't even know.

"Ignoring me huh? How about I start first and you can go afterwards?" offered Obito. It really wasn't like there was much for either of them to do. He was going to die anyway, might as well make a friend before he crossed to the other side. "I'm from Konoha, a chunin. My hobbies include making people smile and helping the elderly."

The girl continued to remain silent as she listened.

"I have a girl I liked for the longest time, still do. Kind of wish I could've told her said," admitted Obito quietly. "I dislike stuck up and people who betrays their friends and comrades."

It's a bit odd to be admitting to all these things. If anyone got wind of him blabbering off his mouth to an unknown, he would get sent to T&I for a good tongue lashing along with some whiplashing as well… Oh well, he's going die anyway.

"My dream?" chuckled Obito as he thought back to the first day he met Kakashi, Rin and Minato sensei. "Well… I have one, it was kind of nice."

"…What was your dream?" asked the girl, finally breaking out of her shell.

"Tsk, tsk, no cheating," teased Obito. He wasn't about to let her shrink back into her shell. "You have to tell me something about yourself."

"I'm almost four," mumbled the girl.

"Almost four?" said Obito, exaggerating his words since now he knew how old the child was. Young children did tend to respond better to happier tones. "Your mommy must be so proud that you're a big girl now."

"My mommy's dead," answered the girl in a deadpan.

"Oh…" murmured Obito quietly. There went that strategy. "What about your dad? He's still around?"

"I dunno… Dad was with me before we separated," answered the girl softly.

"Maybe he's—" a violent cough racked through the half of his body that he could feel.

"Are you okay?" asked the girl meekly.

"Don't worry about it," rasped Obito as he caught his breath. There was no need to scare the girl any further. "Hey, you're not scared anymore right?"

"No…" agreed the girl. He could hear her shifting as she searched for him. "But where are you?"

"Probably under a big rock. I wouldn't look for me if I were you. I'm not very pretty now," joked Obito with a weak laugh.

"That's okay," said the girl. "You have a pretty voice."

"Pretty voice?" said Obito in amusement before he felt the world spin. "Listen, why don't you go find your dad? You can't help me. Half my body's crushed."

"My dad's an iryo-nin, he can fix you," said the girl stubbornly.

Obito fought back a groan as he forced the next words out. "Even the best can't… put me… back…"

"Hey!" cried out the child in alarm. "You're not leaving me alone are you?"

He kept quiet, fighting back another fit of coughing as he did his best to keep from scaring the girl further.

"Some friend you are," sniffled the girl as she hiccupped in the darkness. "Leaving me alone in the dark."

So, she's afraid of the dark. That was so typical of a child.

"Heh," chuckled Obito weakly as he gathered chakra in his hand. He couldn't do anything like Kakashi's chidori, but he could at least turn himself into a temporary human nightlight for the scared little girl. To his surprise, he could see the blue glow of chakra out of his left eye. The boulder must've shifted when everything collapsed. "I'm not that mean."

"You didn't answer when I called out," huffed the girl, trying to sound like she was angry, but he could hear the relief in her voice.

"Sorry," wheezed Obito, doing his best not to smile. "It's a bit hard to talk with a collapsed lung.

"…Does it hurt?" asked the girl as she scooted closer.  
"Dunno, can't feel much," answered Obito truthfully before a thought crossed his mind and a chuckle escaped him. "You cheated."

"Huh?" voiced the girl in confusion.

"You didn't tell me a thing about yourself," quipped the Uchiha in amusement.

He really shouldn't be joking like this at the edge of death, but his efforts weren't wasted as a giggle broke from the little girl. She must've find the whole situation just as absurd as he did.

"Hey, it's not that funny." He faked a pout, determined to keep her laughing even if just for a moment longer.

"My name's Kasa Mon," said the girl as she recovered from her giggling fit. "I'm from Ame."

"You're from rain… and your parents named you umbrella?" said Obito with a raised brow, her parents must have a sense of humor.

"Like your name is any better," huffed the girl, no doubt puffing her cheeks as she said this.

"Of course my name is awesome! I'm Obito Uchiha, the most badass ninja of Konoha!"

"…You're trapped in a pile of rocks," said the girl in a deadpan.

"…Minor setback," retorted Obito, slightly miffed, but he quickly lost steam as the world spun once more into darkness and the coughs returned. He didn't need to see or hear to know that this scared her. Who wouldn't be scared to see someone dying next to them? "Hey, give me your hand."

"Why?" asked the girl, her voice muffled as if she covered it trying to hide how scared she was.

"Come on, don't you trust me?" said Obito gently. Even if he was going to die, he's going to do what he could while he's still alive to make it slightly less terrifying for the girl.

She slid her hand blindly across the ground trying to find his in the darkness. The chakra he gathered to light the cramp space had gone out when he fell into his coughing fit. He grabbed hers with no trouble and gripped it comfortingly. Her hand small and soft, without callouses of someone who was trained as raised as a shinobi. She was civilian through and through.

"Sorry," murmured Obito and he truly was. Shinobi was trained to witness death and accept it. Civilians on the other hand were not. He'd be surprised if this doesn't scar her for life.

"For what?" asked the girl, clueless to what he why he was apologizing.

"For being a horrible friend," said Obito as he lit the cramp space once more with chakra. "I'll try to keep it bright for as long as I can."

"…You're dying," concluded the girl in a mumble. Maybe she wasn't as clueless as he thought.

"Yeah," answered Obito tiredly in a soft voice as the light from his chakra flickered once more. His time almost up. "Sorry for leaving you alone.

He feel the girl shaking next to him, biting back cries and whimpers of fear. Poor girl, she's going to die not long after him…

"Obito, open your mouth," said the girl breathless with pain.

"What's the matter?" asked Obito in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to fix you," wheezed the girl in determination.

"How? Don't be stupid. I told you even the best iryo-nin can't—" He never got to finish as she shoved her arm into his mouth and out of instinct, he clamped down.

The familiar feeling of healing chakra flowed through him as feeling finally returned to the crushed half of his body. The flow was brief and didn't completely heal him, but he didn't feel like he was going die at least. Before he could make sense of anything, he blacked out.

Unbeknownst to him, the moment he was unconscious another took over.

* * *

Having taken over young Obito's body, the time-traveling Uchiha spent the last of his chakra to drag both Obito and the child Kasa out of the rubble through Kamui. While the control was brief, it seemed like his host was oblivious to the times he takes over. Unable to control the duration of the take-over, the time traveler fell into the back of the younger teen's consciousness once Obito resumed control. Though he couldn't see, he could hear his younger counterpart clearly as he murmured to himself with a weak chuckle.

"How did I…? Maybe I unconsciously dug us out with an earth release jutsu? But there's no hole… Huh?" confusion laced the younger Uchiha's voice before he gave a nonchalant shrug. "Ah, I'll figure it out later, no need to stress about it."

If the time traveler could snort, he would do so at how the teen went about tending his and the girl's injuries before setting up camp. He knew the risk of starting a fire when he was alone in enemy territory, but continued anyway, just so that he could boil hot water in his metal canister and treat the girl's bite wound. A _bite_ wound. He doubt there was anything in the teen's mouth that could give the girl an infection. It was likely just an excuse to give the child some warmth during the night. Be it kindness or the carefree naivety of his younger—no, not his younger self.

They're not the same, not anymore. This one won't be a puppet of Madara, he won't let it happen, but at the same time, he couldn't in good conscience call himself Obito either. He doesn't have the right. Not after all he's done. He was bitter, jaded, doing whatever that was necessary to lead the world to a future he desired. Actually, he might still be. Coming all the way back here into this time, wasn't he just doing same thing all over again? Even if it's under the guise of another reason, this was no different from when he was Tobi…

Tobi… wry amusement crossed his thoughts as the name brought back an odd sense of nostalgia. Despite how the name was meant to be a joke in his previous life, it felt fitting to be used once more here. The name he decided as a joke would be reborn here and used to fix the mistakes of his past… Now, if only he had a way to gain a body of his own. It was a hassle to share one that he couldn't take over at will.

* * *

Obito kept guard as his little savior slept. The auburn-haired girl was unconscious to the world. Judging by what little light they had from the fire, she resembled a little to Minato sensei's girlfriend, Kushina, but that was just a coincidence right? The seals on her arms suggests otherwise though. Maybe if brought her back to Konoha, Kushina could verify his theory.

Glancing up to the sky, he let out a sigh. It was still too dark to move safely. Not with all the injuries he had and an unconscious civilian child as well. This was likely the worst case scenario he ever faced. Separated from his team, injured to the point of near death—though he has to question how a civilian child with no shinobi training whatsoever manage what she did. He was certain that he was a goner. No one recovers from having half their body crushed under a pile of rubble.

A kekkai genkai maybe? A healing one was unheard of as most families with one usually tried to hone it for attack or defense. Taking another look at the girl, he gave a careless shrug as he gathered her close to keep both of them warm and rested his eyes. He was no use to either of them if he was completely worn out when morning comes. He could only hope that no one attacks while they're asleep.

Unknown to him, his stowaway time traveler remained awake and alert, guarding them while they slept. Even without sight, he managed with his hearing and what little chakra sensory skills he had. The night was fairly quiet sans the soft rustling of leaves against the wind and the barely audible calling between insects. It was odd to be able to feel what his host could feel. The coldness of the air, the fluctuating heat from the flames and the warmth of the small child in his arms.

The appearance of this girl nagged him to no end, her appearance was too sudden and convenient. Just when his host needed a healer, this girl just shows up out of the blue. While Obito accepted her without a second thought, Tobi did not share that same hopeful naivety. It wasn't normal. _She_ wasn't normal. Last time, she wasn't there. He never saw her in his previous life. So what changed here? His presence?

Not likely since he had no chance to do anything significant to bring forth this child. The only thing he's done so far was prolong Obito's life by mere… minutes… Realization seeped into Tobi as he cycled through his thoughts in quick succession.

This Obito lasted minutes longer than he did. She was here the last time, but he missed her because he couldn't hang on. Madara likely only told Zetsu to retrieve only him and since she had no one to get her out, she never had a chance to live. In theory, this explanation would cover nearly everything neatly… but that still left the biggest question lingering.

Where the hell did she come from? The memories of this day was burned into his mind, there was no way he would forget the detail of a civilian child. So what was she? A child-spirit like Obito claimed or a powerful entity born from the Uzumaki Clan?

Her breathing remained slow and steady as she leaned in and curled up closer to Obito's body for warmth. If he thought about it, she very well could be a powerful entity. The Uzumaki clan had a tendency to produce powerful children. Despite having their home village destroyed and their clan scattered into the four corners of the world, they still managed to birth impressive powerhouses like Naruto and Nagato along with valuable support-focused individuals like Karin.

If her healing ability was anything to go by, with some training, she might become a valuable support in the future… but that's thinking too far ahead. From the glimpse he got of her earlier, she couldn't be more than four years old. More importantly, they have to find a way back to Konoha without dying. If Obito dies here, Madara would just take him again and turn him against everyone again. That was something he couldn't let happen. Until he could find a way to take over or obtain a body of his own, he could only wait and see.

* * *

To their good fortune, they remained undisturbed by attackers for the night. Obito woke up at the crack of dawn, body stiff, aching from both injuries and an awkward sleeping position. Seeing they were still in one piece, he did what he could to put out the remains of the fire and covered any tracks that might've hinted that they stayed the night. With the morning light, he finally a better glimpse of his little savior.

The night prior, he made note that Kasa had a strong resemblance to Kushina, but now with better lighting, he noticed her hair was darker shade. The possibility of them being related could still be fairly high. As he buried the dying embers of their campfire, the girl roused.

"Looks like the sleeping princess is awake," teased Obito as she rubbed her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"…You're still here," said the girl in surprise. Did she expect him to abandon her?

"Did I give you _that_ bad of an impression? Why would you think I'd leave you? You're stuck with me until we find your dad," said Obito.

"…But I don't even know where he is," murmured the girl.

"Hmm," hummed Obito thoughtfully. She did have a point, he couldn't very well trollop through the fire country looking for her father without a lead, especially not in his current condition. Not to mention, he wanted to let his team know that he was still alive. Such a predicament… "Then you'll just have to come back with me to Konoha!"

Surprise crossed the girl's face again. She must not have much interaction with people if she's so easily startled by the simplest of offers.

"You can stay with me and wait for your dad to show up. I'm sure we'll find a way to contact him eventually," said Obito as he held his arms behind his head. "What do you say?"

The girl took a moment, but eventually nodded with a quiet. "Sure."

"Great!" He couldn't help but ruffle up her hair, she was like a little kitten. "Konoha's a great place, you'll love it there!"

She moved to get up, but she must've not been very coordinated as she slipped and fell flat on her face. Not even a moment later, her stomach growled signaling her hunger. Obito found himself unable to hold back as he cracked up laughing. She really was like a kitten.

"Shut up!" grumbled the girl as she pushed herself to her knees and rubbed her nose tenderly.

"Sorry, sorry!" said Obito, genuine in his apology, as he rummaged through his pouch. "I have some ration bars, they're not tasty, but that'll have to hold you over until we reach a Konoha outpost or a village."

"You're still laughing," glared the girl as she took the offered bars.

"You have something on your nose," sniggered Obito before she scowled even more. Little did he know, this was only the first of many banters they would share.

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter is pretty much just Obito's point of view of an earlier chapter in Kasa's story. The first couple of chapters here would pretty much just be Obito's POV during Kasa's story, at least until they reach Konoha and the story would branch out a bit more and focus less on Kasa.

A couple of you asked if this is an AU to Kasa's story, the answer is no. It's the same story, just following Obito instead. Hence, why I said "parallel to" and not alternate universe. If you haven't read Kasa's story, it's okay, I'm writing this to be a standalone. So, if you don't want to read Kasa's story, you don't have to.

Just as a minor reminder if there are new readers here and haven't seen the public announcement I left in the other story. SOPA is acting up once more and in order to protect our rights to enjoy our fandoms through fanfics and fanart please sign the SOPA 2014 petition at the whitehousegov website before March 19th. If you signed already, great! Let's hope we prevent SOPA from ruining our fun!

I'm usually not one for long author's notes as I'm not fond of them being longer than the actual chapter, but there were just several points I would like to make note of and the notes in the following chapters should be no longer than a paragraph or two. If you have any questions you want answered, as usual, please put "answer this" when you ask me question in reviews or I might just think it's a rhetorical question and leave you hanging. Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!


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